Man tortured to death by Lahore police, family allege – Pakistan

A Lahore man who died in police custody was tortured to death by his jailers, relatives of the deceased alleged on Wednesday, while police officials continued to insist he died “due to his drug addiction”.

Police’s narrative of the length of his incarceration was also challenged by the deceased’s family.

Police sources claimed that the man, Yasir Butt, had been arrested late Tuesday for theft and robbery and had died in the lock-up “due to his drug addiction”. However, Butt’s brother, Hasan, said the man had actually been in the custody of Township police for over a month without being charged with a crime.

Yasir Butt. —Photo courtesy Yasir Butt’s family

Hasan added that the family had last met Butt on Tuesday, when they went to give him food.

He further claimed that Butt had later been killed in the police station and his mother had been pressurised into accepting the body without filing a complaint.

He accused the Station House Officer the police station of being responsible for the death. The officer was unavailable for comment.

No report or official complaint has been filed with police so far. An autopsy has also not been carried out, although the family claims there are visible torture marks on Butt’s body.